Judy Seltz, ASCD’s new executive director, outlines her plans for the association and her vision for education in a wide-ranging interview with Education Week blogger Peter Dewitt. In the process, Seltz details some of the association’s policy priorities and recent successes. Read on for highlights from the interview.

Supporting the Whole Child: "The Whole Child Resolution, cosponsored by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Rodney Davis (R-IL), was recently introduced in the House of Representatives. Our policy team helped draft the resolution language, and we're excited about this important step toward developing policies that effectively promote each student's long-term learning, development, and success."Seltz shares ASCD’s recent accomplishments in promoting a whole child approach to education, including the aforementioned resolution, which you can ask your representative to support today. She also highlights the Whole Child State Snapshots, which measure how well each state—and the nation as a whole—is supporting the comprehensive needs of its students. Additionally, Seltz points to ASCD board member and deputy superintendent of Tacoma (WA) Public Schools, Josh Garcia, who has led the creation of a multimetric accountability system (PDF) aligned with the district's overall goal to support the whole child.

Evolving Professional Development:“We've made an effort to provide professional learning opportunities that take into consideration the new realities in education: connected educators, accessibility of information, and tighter budgets for both finances and time.”Seltz describes ASCD's work to deliver relevant and flexible professional learning in tune with educators' needs. She emphasizes three key elements of professional learning (research-based, customized, and job-embedded) that ASCD both advocates for and applies in its own products, programs, and services.

Common Core State Standards:“First and foremost, our focus is on enabling educators to do the best job they can so their students are successful, no matter what standards are in place.”Seltz explains that, regardless of the specific standards or accountability measures schools are implementing, ASCD will continue to focus on “building educator effectiveness, increasing local capacity, and helping each school become a successful learning environment.” To stay up-to-date on the latest Common Core developments, subscribe to Core Connection, ASCD’s twice-monthly e-newsletter.

Student Data Privacy in the Spotlight

Debates over student privacy have cropped up in many states, often as part of the transition to new assessments aligned with the Common Core standards. Now the topic has captured national attention. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) recently introduced a bill (PDF) that would limit the use of students’ personally identifiable data for marketing purposes and deter companies or organizations from amassing permanent student profiles. The bill’s protections, however, apply to students' educational records only—which excludes students' performance in online courses or games and raises questions about whether the bill adequately protects student data in a digital era. And because, under the bill, most of the responsibility to protect student data would fall on schools and districts, advocates are questioning the capacity of these entities to meet the proposed requirements. Prospects for the bill are grim because so few days remain this Congressional session.

Rebranding Teaching

Nation Builder, Change Agent, Curiosity Curator—how do you capture and describe all that you, as an educator, do every day? Two teachers have challenged the education community to participate in a rebranding of the teaching profession. Add to the conversation via Twitter by submitting your ideas with the hashtag #rebrandteaching. Spark your ideas by watching the campaign video and further the dialogue by asking your colleagues how educators can help society understand their complex and changing role.

Did You Know?

Educators in the United States are preparing to welcome just over 50 million students to the public school system for the 2014–15 school year. ASCD’s most recent Leader2Leader (L2L) Twitter chat discussed starting the school year right. See the complete conversation, including practical tips to a great start from ASCD’s guest author, Allen Mendler.